Pastor Joe Gutierrez said the head trustee of the Church on Fire, at 9019 Stellhorn Road, discovered it around 7:00 a.m. when he saw the front garage door partially open and the back door completely open.

Several tools, including air tools, framing and finishing nailers and hand tools were missing from the garage and the vandals poured oil all over the ground, on the push mower and on boxes filled with library books.

The words "Bash Back, 6-6-6" and an upside down cross were spray painted on the inside of the garage door. The van was also graffitied.

Gutierrez explained that ‘Bash Back’ refers to pushing for rights of same-sex marriage and homosexuality through the constitution. Same-sex marriage and homosexuality are two topics the Church on Fire does not support.

“We are a very conservative church, Pentecostal church, where we believe same-sex marriage is an abomination of God and one that clearly states it’s wrong in the eyes of God. We do teach against that and we do admonish people in our church to refrain from homosexuality,” said Gutierrez.

Pastor Guiterrez thinks the vandals could either just be kids or someone taking an issue with the church’s beliefs.

“It lets me know that the individual(s) that have done this have too much free time. They aren’t involved in the community and it lets me know one of two things: 1. that just some kids have come through and did it or 2. that they are individuals that actually support this group that want to scare tactic me and so on to try and get us from the viewpoints that we hold that or and (sic) they just don’t like anybody that’s against it. I really don’t know,” said Guiterrez.

Pastor Guiterrez not only preaches at the Church on Fire, he is involved in ministry at the county jail. He said he is looking on the bright side if the vandals ever get caught. He said if they go to jail, he’ll have an opportunity to teach and study with them.

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